BY JANET STEINBERG

PART 2 OF A SERIES (United States)

For
singers, their song would be “Amazing grace…how sweet the sound”.

For
travelers, their song would be “Amazing place…how sweet the town”.

Since
I am an inveterate travel, I will sing you my song. So here I go…with my
amazing places…some of the sweetest towns in the United States.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: “Beantown”, as Boston is
affectionately dubbed, is much more than Boston Baked Beans.  It is ducks
that will splash you into the waters of the Charles River and swan boats that
will glide you atop the waters of the Lagoon in Boston’s Public Garden. 
It is a 3-mile, red-painted Freedom Trail that connects Boston’s historic
Colonial and Revolutionary sights, and a Holocaust Memorial that towers along
that trail.  


HOLOCAUST
MEMORIAL PLAQUE SAYS ONE WORD:  “REMEMBER”




It’s a quacking good time when you board a Boston Duck Tour.
Upon boarding, you will be greeted by a tour ConDUCKtor, who will narrate your
tour. And just when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s more.  It’s
“Splashdown” as your ConDUCKtor splashes your DUCK into the Charles
River for a breathtaking view of the Boston and Cambridge skylines. “One
big splash and the rest is history!”

For
over 130 years, the Swan Boats have been a part of the Boston experience. As a
welcome sign of spring, they grace the waters of the Boston Public
Garden
, the first botanical garden in the United States. 

When
in Boston, you must eat fresh seafood.  Boston’s bounty from the brine can
best be tasted at Legal Sea Foods. Their iconic tagline says it all: “If it
isn’t Fresh, it isn’t Legal.”

And
what would a trip to Boston be without downing a nip at Cheers?  When you
step inside the convivial Original Cheers on Beacon Hill (previously known as
the Bull & Finch), you’ll immediately know why everyone knows your name.
  In 2001, at Faneuil Hall, (rhymes with Daniel Hall) Kershaw
recreated the bar as it appeared on the set of Cheers.

CHEERS…WHERE
EVERYONE KNOWS YOUR NAME

NEWPORT,
RHODE ISLAND:
Newport, Rhode Island, called America’s first Resort” is a
city of firsts.  In 1687, it was the first American city to pass a traffic
ordinance.  It had the first church steeple in the United States and the
first (1763) Jewish synagogue dedicated in America.  It was the site of
the first of the thirteen colonies’ Declaration of Independence in May of 1776
and home of the first permanent Quaker settlement in America; it operated the
first ferry service in 1657 and had the first gas streetlights in 1803.
A
TINY STATE DOES THINGS IN A BIG WAY!


Newport
is also the Sailing Capital of the World.  You can take to the water for a
sunset sail on lovely Narragansett Bay, or watch one of the many annual
regattas, races, and sailing festivals that take place off Newport.

Fresh
seafood is found all along the New England coast, and Newport restaurants are
some of the best.  To work off those calories, you can play tennis on the
legendary grass courts at The International Tennis Hall of Fame. 

The
Newport Casino, a National Historic Landmark, built in 1880, is home to the
International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum.  It was designed as a
social and sporting club for the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Newport society
during the “Gilded Age”.  Known as Newport’s “Sporting Mansion”, this
Stanford White structural masterpiece is one of the finest examples of
Victorian shingle-style architecture in the world.

NEWPORT
CASINO: HOME TO THE INTERNATIONAL TENNIS HALL OF FAME

You
can stroll through history on Newport’s dramatic 3.5 mile Cliff Walk that winds
along the island’s southeastern edge, bordered on one side by the massive
summer cottages of America’s turn-of-the-century elite and on the other side by
granite cliffs and pounding surf of the Atlantic.

Newport,
Rhode Island is the ultimate “gilt trip”.

NASHVILLE,TENNESSEE:
Music City, U.S.A……that’s where it’s at.  Nashville’s heart beats to
music.  Folk music that crossed the Smokies with early
settlers…toe-tapping fiddle and banjo music…mournful hill ballads…the music of
America…tunes that grew into down home “hillbilly” music that filled
the barns and the countryside. 

Nashville,
the progressive vital city with a colorful past and an exciting future, has
something for everyone.  From stately historical mansions and cultural
landmarks to stark skyscrapers; from a mega-million dollar music industry to
rolling hills and rambling horse farms; from Capitol Hill to 17 college
campuses; from greens ‘n hawg jawls to knishes, latkes, and filet
mignon; from the Nashville Symphony and Ballet to the Country Music Hall of
Fame and the Grand Ole Opry.
THE
COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME

 “The
Grand Ole Opry is as simple as sunshine,” said George D. Hay, ‘The Solemn
Old Judge’ and founder of the Grand Ole Opry.  “It has a universal
appeal because it is built upon good will, and with folk music expresses the
heart-beat of a large percentage of Americans who labor for a living.”

Several
years later, ‘The Solemn Old Judge’ accidently gave the show its permanent
name.  He opened the WSM Country Music Show, which followed a program of
classical music, with his now-famous ad-libbed words: “For the past hour
you’ve been listening to Grand Opera.   Now we will present Grand Ole
Opry!”  That was the beginning of the world’s oldest continuing radio
program in existence.

RYMAN
AUDITORIUM, ORIGINAL GRAND OLE OPRY HOUSE

Opryland
Hotel, creating an old Southern lodging, is an attraction in and of
itself.  The huge staircase, golden chandelier, and wood-burning twin
fireplaces, welcome you to Tennessee hospitality at its finest. 

Good
music, good food, good shopping, good people, and good times are all in
abundance in Music City, U.S.A.  Y’all try it.

CHICAGO,
ILLINOIS: 
Chicago, “that toddling’ town” is now fully grown
into a sophisticated metropolitan area that rivals any major city in the
world.  Teeming with life, the vibrant “Windy City” exudes an
excitement all its own.  Twenty-nine miles of lakefront form the front
lawn of what has become one of the world’s greatest cities.

29-MILES
OF LAKEFRONT FORM CHICAGO’S FRONT LAWN

One
of the best introductions to Chicago’s diverse architectural scene is on the
official Chicago Architecture Foundation’s (CAF) Chicago River Architecture
Cruise.  The Chicago River is the only river on earth that flows
backwards.  Reversed in 1900 for sanitary reasons, it is one of the 20th
century’s top engineering wonders.

With
its unprecedented combination of architecture, monumental sculpture, and
landscape design, the 24.5-acre Millennium Park is possibly the most
glittering, jewel in Chicago’s crown. Millennium Park was first conceived in
1998 to transform the unsightly railroad tracks and parking lots that had long
dotted the lakefront.

CHICAGO
BEAN IN MILLENNIUM PARK

Dining
in Chicago runs the gamut from haute cuisine to hot dogs.  With names like
Mustard’s Last Stand, The Wieners Circle, and Doggy Diner, there are over 2000
hot dog stands in the Chicago area.  The classic Chicago hot dog consists
of a hot dog and a bun loaded with mustard, bright green relish, tomatoes,
onions, pickles, cucumbers, and hot peppers.  Celery salt is optional, but
about one thing there is no doubt.  On a Chicago hot dog there is always
NO CATSUP!

This
“stormy, husky, brawling city of big shoulders”, as Carl Sandburg
called it in 1916, might well be the most apple pie city of all the country’s
major metropolises.  But, take my word for it…it’s a gourmet apple pie.

JANET STEINBERG is an
award-winning Travel Writer, and International Travel Consultant 
with
THE TRAVEL AUTHORITY in Mariemont, Ohio.  She is the winner of 41 national
Travel Writing Awards.